Business People

October 05, 2008

SOUTH BEND -- Public accounting and consulting firm Crowe Horwath LLP has appointed two individuals to the firm's South Bend office. Sarah Graham has been appointed staff in the tax division, and Erin O'Leary has been appointed staff in the assurance and financial advisory division. BENTON HARBOR -- Stefany Foster has joined the staff of Wightman & Associates in its Benton Harbor headquarters. Foster is an architecture draftsperson specializing in 3-D rendering and AutoCad for municipal, commercial and residential projects. Foster is a graduate of Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Mich., with a degree in architectural technology. ST. JOSEPH -- Lakeland HealthCare recently held its annual Welcome, Reward, and Recognition Event to thank area physicians for their service to the community and to honor those physicians who have made significant contributions to the organization. Two physicians were named Lakeland's Physician Volunteer Leaders of the Year. They are: Dr. George Kolettis of Southwest Michigan Center for Orthopedics and Sport Medicine, and Dr. Michael Westfall, assistant medical director of the Lakeland Emergency Department. Physician Leadership Awards were presented to Dr. Dennis Thompson, president of the medical staff of Lake Michigan Sinus & Sleep Apnea, and Dr. Stephen Hempel, who is vice president of the same medical staff. Also receiving this award was Dr. J. Douglas Huggett, secretary and treasurer of the medical staff of Cardiology Southwest. ST. JOSEPH -- Lakeland HealthCare has promoted Bart Berndt to executive director of cardiovascular services. Berndt joined Lakeland in 1984 as a registered nurse and radiologic technologist in the Lakeland Heart Center. In 1998, he was promoted to manager of the Heart Center, and later to director of the Heart Center, Radiology, and the Lakeland Health Park in Royalton Township. Berndt holds both a bachelor of science and master of science in health administration from Kennedy Western University. He is a member of the American Society of Radiology Technologists (ASRT) and the American Healthcare Radiology Administrators (AHRA), from which he earned Certified Radiology Administrator (CRA) certification. ELKHART -- Tepe Sanitary Supply Inc. recently hired Dan Lenhart as purchasing and warehouse manager. He will be responsible for all purchasing, inventory control, shipping and receiving, and warehouse operations. Lenhart attended Indiana Tech and has more than 15 years of warehousing and distribution experience. SOUTH BEND -- Baker & Daniels LLP has four attorneys from the firm's South Bend office listed in "The Best Lawyers in America 2009" publication. Those named are: Thomas Brunner, commercial litigation; Richard Hill, corporate law; Edward Sullivan, education law; and Robert Wade, health care law. SOUTH BEND -- Deb Gartee has accepted the position as director of Family Centered Maternity Care with Memorial Hospital. Gartee will be responsible for the management and direction of the postpartum unit. She will coordinate the staff, ensure quality of care and manage the clinical performance of the patient care area. Gartee joined Memorial in 1980 as a labor/delivery and surgical nurse. In 1991, she was named coordinator for the Center for Assisted Reproduction and later helped to establish the "Spirit of Women" program at Memorial Hospital to address the health of women in our community. She has directed the Health Professionals and the Health Discovery Center and most recently, the Memorial Weight Loss & Bariatric Surgery Center. She is nationally certified in reproductive endocrinology and is a women's health nurse practitioner. SOUTH BEND --Jay Brockman, associate professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Notre Dame, has been appointed associate dean for educational programs within the College of Engineering. Although he will continue to teach and conduct research, Brockman will also be responsible for all collegewide educational initiatives. He will solicit federal and industrial funding to support innovative educational opportunities for engineering students. A faculty member since 1992, he received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Brown University in 1982 and his master's (1988) and doctoral (1992) degrees in electrical and computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. In another appointment within the college, Leo McWilliams, associate professional specialist and co-course coordinator of the first-year engineering sequence, has been named interim director of the Minority Engineering Program. McWilliams joined the university in 2002. He holds bachelor's degrees in both economics and electrical engineering, which he earned in 1981 and 1982 respectively. In 1985 he received a master's degree in electrical engineering and was awarded a doctorate in electrical engineering in 1993. LAPORTE -- LaPorte Regional Health System has announced Ann Mejer as the director of employee health. Mejer's duties include overseeing flu vaccinations, leaves of absences and workers' compensation for employees. Mejer has been involved with the LRHS organization for 20 years, having previously been employed as the director of the Continuing Care Center for eight years. She also has 10 years of experience in the Quality Assurance department of LRHS. Mejer holds a master of science in administration from the University of Notre Dame, a bachelor of nursing from Ball State University and an associate degree from Ivy Tech Community College. SOUTH BEND -- Sixteen attorneys from Barnes & Thornburg LLP's South Bend office were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in "The Best Lawyers in America 2009." The attorneys who made this year's list, including their specialty area, are as follows. Nelson Vogel Jr. in tax law and corporate law; Brian Lake in employee benefits law; Timothy Hernly in tax law; Nancy Ickler in trusts and estates; Richard Mintz in banking law, corporate law and real estate law; Michael Watkins in bankruptcy and creditor-debtor rights law; and Timothy Abeska in commercial litigation. Also named were: Kathleen Brickley in labor and employment law; Robert G. Devetski in insurance law; Douglas Dieterly in personal injury litigation and product liability litigation; Joseph Fullenkamp in product liability litigation; George Horn Jr. in white-collar criminal defense; Greta Roemer Lewis in trusts and estates; Gerald Lutkus in First Amendment law; Phillip Faccenda Jr. in government relations law; and Alan Fedbaum in public finance law. ST. JOSEPH -- Andrea Simon has joined Lakeland HealthCare as manager of patient accounts. Simon is responsible for billing and payment collection for all Lakeland HealthCare services. Simon earned a master of public administration degree, with an emphasis in health care administration, from Oakland University in Rochester, Mich. She also holds a bachelor's degree in business administration in finance and management from Grand Valley State University. SOUTH BEND -- BKR Studio, a Michiana-based Web site design, development, and marketing company, has hired Josh Jessup as a designer and interactive developer. In his new position, Jessup will help companies design attractive and engaging Web sites that are also easy to use. He has more than 18 years in computer and interactive programming. BKR also announced the promotion of Chad Nagy to project manager. Nagy will work with clients to ensure that their web development projects are kept on track and on budget. He has background in web development, computer science and finance.